Carrie Mae Weems

Weems "Kitchen Table Series"

My Weems inspired Collage

                

Weems "Kitchen Table Series"

Weems "Kitchen Table Series"

“This level of interest in the self has been commercialized; personal therapy  and meditation classes can be purchased to help improve and realize our potential. We can learn to sleep differently, change our eating practices and sexual desires in order to understand and perfect the mechanism that holds body and mind together. This heightened level of attention encourages an over valuation of self presentation” (Finkelstein, pg.122).

Carrie Mae Weems was one of the highest influential American artists who focused her work on sexual identity, family relationships, racism, class, and power. Her photographs embody a complex form of art through text, audio, fabric, video, digital images, and installations. Weems has been featured in many art galleries, exhibitions, and won numerous awards for her efforts. The works I selected explore gender, class, and stereotypes through her piece titled “Kitchen Table Series”, which explores African American stereotypes. The quote I selected is from Finkelstein’s “The Art of Self Invention”, because Weems is a self created artist devoted to activism and political rights. The self should be considered the most important thing in one’s life, and is often used in the business world to make money. People strive to be the best they can be, and are promoted to do so through commercialism.

References

• “Carrie Mae Weems.” 73 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy, www.artsy.net/artist/carrie-mae-weems.